Chris Faytok/The Star-LedgerMartin Brodeur, right, will be back in net for the Devils when they take on Minnesota Friday night.

With a dozen games remaining in the regular season, the Devils are still thinking about overtaking the Boston Bruins and capturing first place in the Eastern Conference.

By losing to the Carolina Hurricanes Wednesday night, they may have squandered an opportunity to catch the Bruins as early as this weekend in their head-to-head clash Sunday at TD Banknorth Garden.

But captain Jamie Langenbrunner said he is most concerned with bouncing back strong after the setback in Raleigh, N.C. The Devils, who host the Minnesota Wild Friday night at the Prudential Center, haven't lost two in a row in 10 weeks (since Jan. 6-8).

"Boston is still going to be a meaningful game either way," Langenbrunner said. "(The Wild) is all we're focused on right now. We'll try to get the two points from them, try to keep the pressure on (the Bruins) and try to keep distance between ourselves and the other teams around us. The focus is to try to solidify one of the top spots.

"Sure you'd like to win them all. That's obviously not realistic. For us lately it's been how we've responded after a loss. That's going to be our focus, looking ahead, not back."

Martin Brodeur will return to the net against coach Jacques Lemaire's Wild. Having already secured career win No. 552, Brodeur is 8-1 since returning Feb. 26 from a torn tendon in his left biceps.

As for the Devils defense, Colin White remains questionable for Friday night's game after aggravating a lower body injury Tuesday night. If White cannot play, a decision will be made as to whether Andy Greene or Jay Leach is in the lineup.

The Devils did not practice Thursday, but Leach returned to the team after completing a two-week conditioning stint at Lowell (AHL).

Coach Brent Sutter wasn't overly bothered by the loss to Carolina. He knew the team had come off two highly charged games as Brodeur made history and admitted "they're human."

But it remains Sutter's task to keep the Devils on track over the final 12 games. And, as for catching the Bruins?

"It's not something that we talk about," he said. "Our thing is being on a mission here, as we have been, to continue to play well down the stretch. So when it gets to the second season here and we continue to play well, we're going to be in there and we'll be in a good situation. But we have to be on a level we can accept going into the playoffs where we know we're playing well.

"The standings are there. We know that. But it's not something we're focused in on. But to see how the gap has closed in the last six weeks -- at one point we were 18 points back -- that in itself is a credit to those guys in that room. Yet that's not what is motivating us. What's motivating us is internally to be a good team game in and game out. We know we can have nights where we don't play as well as we can, but we've responded very well every time it has happened."